Skip to main content

Analysis of The Good Teachers

Synopsis= This poem is centred around a young school girl, who grows into adulthood which we can perceive through a stream of consciousness told by the speaker. Through each stanza we see a different time period that the child goes through. The poem explores various qualities of "good" teachers ans how early childhood ambitions become so easily clouded and adulthood becomes more of a simulation.

 Key Quotations + Analysis
1.) "Her kind intelligent green eyes, her cruel blue one"-
  • This has a symbolic connotation as it displays two different perceptions of teacher, an admiration (a younger perception of teachers) and resentment (for the teacher somewhat fooled her as he was not prepared for the real world during her time at school).
  • As she grows older the speaker gets more and more cynical about teachers. This could imply that she realises they are not perfect or that she is somewhat blaming them for her downfall.
2.) "South Sea Bubble Defenestration of Prague"
  • The speaker of the poem randomly displays a burst of random knowledge, this mimics the random facts/ knowledge that we acquire through school. The fact that the two events are placed together but have no real association towards each other convey that the facts taught to the speaker have no real meaning to her now she has grown as she has lost enthusiasm to learn and acquire knowledge, however at the time of her early childhood learning these facts was seen as joyous and recalling them to the teacher was done so with pride.
3.) "You breath on the glass"-
  • This is a very childish thing to do. 
  • Glass is transparent from which we can infer that the speaker can see the purpose of her education clearly (glass gets less clear as she ages)
4.) "The good teachers swish"-
  • This line comes after the speaker has named the teachers which she dislikes, the word choice "swish" is a key use of sibilance which gives it a harsh effect, this could link to the harsh punishment used by teachers which is the cane. The effect of this choice could perhaps portray that Duffy is criticising the harsh form of punishments that teachers used to enforce.
5.) "the day you'll be sorry one day"-
  • Here the writer purposefully places this line as the final line to show that the messages teachers press into the students have a permanent effect on the way they grow up, implying that in a wider context the purpose of teachers is very influential for the growth of children. 
  • This phrase is also a syntax, this could signify that Duffy is trying to present that childhood should not be rushed and made the most of to ensure you grasp every opportunity 
Themes in The Good Teachers 
  • Education
  • Passing of Time
  • Regret
  • Childhood
Links to other poems= 
Well tread= the speakers of both poems have a cynical portrayal of education, in particularly the power of teachers "Stalked the forms".
Stafford Afternoons= Both speakers expose themselves to the dangers of adulthood prematurely and show a sense of regret for doing so.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Analysis of First Love

Synopsis= Duffy focuses this poem on the impact that is left after going through a first love and the surreal feeling of falling in love that takes over a persona briefly. It is clear to see in this poem that the speaker is now disconnected from their first love but the memories of it are reflected on nostalgically and with pleasure Key Quotations + Analysis= Waking, with a dream of first love forming real words, as close to my lips as lipstick, I speaker your name, after a silence of years, into the pillow, and the power of your name brings me here to the window, naked, to say it again to a garden shaking with light. This was a child's love, and yet I clench my eyes  till the pictures return, unfocused at first, then almost clear, an old film played at a slow speed. All day I will glimpse it, in windows of changing sky,   in mirrors, my lover's eyes, wherever you are. And later a star, long dead , here seems precisely  the size of a tear....
Post a Comment
Read more

Analysis of Fraud

Synopsis= It is widely believed that Duffy based the poem 'Fraud' on a man name Robert Maxwell, however his prior name was Jon Ludwick Hock. Maxwell managed to carve a new identity for himself in England after moving from Czechoslovakia where he became a largely successful MP and media head. However after his death there was a burst of controversy surrounding Maxwell as it was believed that there was a lot of flaws in his finances, mainly from pensions. Key Quotations + Analysis 1.) "I spoke the English" Here the speaker is trying to affirm his English identity, however the deviant grammar contradicts this as no native English person would make this mistake. As a result this error flaws the speakers cover and almost unveils his true identity. 2.) "Politicians in and out of their pram"  This line has a lot of plosive language which can convey the speakers bitterness towards politics, his bitter tone is somewhat ironic as Robert Maxwell himself was...
Post a Comment
Read more

Analysis of The Cliche Kid

Synopsis= Duffy uses this poem to explore the themes of mental health and isolation amongst young people and could be perhaps expressing the daily pressures that young people face and the detrimental effects attached to them, shown through the speaker of the poem who is clearly in a deviated mental health state. Key Quotations + Analysis 1.) "The rustle of my fathers ballgown" This initially gives an extremely distorted image of the speakers childhood as they have obviously blurred the gender roles of their mother and father, this distortion could imply that the speaker has lost grip of their identity and do not have clear grasp on what gender role they fit in as they are so lost within cliche/stereotypical perceptions of gender that they are unaware of how to act. This further conveys the emotional turmoil of the speaker because they are confused in their own body.  The word choice "rustle" is significant as it is such a precise sound to remember yet the spe...
Post a Comment
Read more